After three years of high school that included ruthless principals and
a mayor of Sunnydale that turned into a giant snake, Buffy Summers
(Sarah Michelle Gellar) heads into college not knowing what to expect.
As it happens, the brilliant writing team behind the Buffy scripts
seems cursed with the same pensive curiosity. What does a high school
graduate do after those days are over? And what if that graduate is the
Slayer, the Chosen One, the girl who was picked by fate to fight the
monsters the rest of the world seldom admits exists?

Many fans of the seven-year run of the fascinating series “Buffy The
Vampire Slayer” agree that Season Four represents a foundering time for
Buffy and her friends, sometimes known as “the Scoobies,” as well as
their real-life counterparts. After finishing the high school years,
the college years could have turned out as a rehash of everything that
had gone on before. College life, fraught with learning independence,
learning to live with roommates, handling alcohol and sex, and (in the
case of Nicholas Brendon’s Xander) living in his parents’ basement and
finding slacker jobs, promised a lot of material. However, that
material could have turned out a lot like the three previous years.
Instead, the writers chose to strike out in a bold new direction. The
Initiative, a government-sponsored ultra high-tech commando center
specializing in capturing and studying demons, vampires, and other
things that go slay in the night, turns out to be located beneath the
college campus. The fact that Buffy had never before bumped into those
people is surprising enough, but the idea of the Slayer working with
the government is even more twisted. It also begs the question of why
past Slayers hadn’t done so.

Although the framework for the first year of college leaves something
to be desired, there are a number of great episodes, including “Hush”,
the episode written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon wrote
that was nominated for a writing Emmy. The collection opens with “The
Freshman” on Disc 1, and, as in a number of Buffy episodes, starts in a
cemetery. Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Buffy are talking about the
college catalogue, discussing which classes Buffy should enroll in.
Willow already has her schedule together, but Buffy managed to put off
dealing with choosing classes until now. Chapter 2 rolls out a nice
music intro to the whole college scene that carries through the whole
six-disc set. The stage is set quickly and the audience understands
that Buffy Summers, freshman college student who has saved the world at
least a handful of times, is still more than a little overwhelmed by
the college life. Nothing seems familiar, though Willow and her
boyfriend Oz (Seth Green) have managed to fit right in. Later, in

Chapter 5, Buffy is embarrassed by a professor with whom she was hoping
to take a class. Chapter 6 emphasizes clicking heels against the
sidewalk as the episode turns creepy. Gradually, Buffy turns up in the
sights of a female vampire who has set up a sweet little feeding circle
of victims on campus. The female vamp makes fun of Buffy, picking apart
the same vulnerabilities that campus life has brought out. Eventually,
though, as every heroine must, Buffy pulls herself together and hands
out a major thrashing.

Episode 2, “Living Conditions,” focuses on living with a roommate.
After only a few days of sharing a room with her, Buffy is convinced
that her roommate is a demonic monster. A recurring nightmare plagues
Buffy and her roommate. Willow, Oz and Xander believe Buffy is losing
it and may well be under the power of a spell to become a homicidal
maniac. Chapter 10 emphasizes the toenail clipping and pencil-tapping
Buffy and her roommate do to get on each other’s nerves. The sucking
sound of a face getting pulled off in Chapter 13 echoes through the
surround sound system, and the explosion in Chapter 14 rumbles through
the subwoofer with authority. The episode also sets the stage for
Willow and Buffy to become roommates, promising a few problems there as
well.

Dealing with relationships, the responsibilities of sex as well as the
various expectations that come into play afterwards becomes the theme
for “The Harsh Light of Day”. Chapter 1 opens with party music slamming
through the surround sound system and Buffy’s interest in Parker, the
guy she met her first day on campus. Tying back to the high school
days, Harmony (Mercedes McNab), one of the students from Sunnydale
High, shows up hunting on campus in Chapter 2. During the intervening
time, she’s become a vampire. Chapter 4 brings ex-demon Anya (Emma
Caulfield) to Xander. After their date at the Prom, she’s wondering
where their relationship is going, which totally takes Xander by
surprise. Chapter 5 blasts with the sound of the jackhammer vampire
Spike (James Marsters) uses to cut into a structure buried beneath the
campus that’s supposed to contain the fabled Gem of Amarra, which
reportedly can make an individual vampire indestructible. Chapter 12
riffs the jackhammer noise again and mixes in rock music that masks
much of the destructive thunder.

“Fear Itself” comes as a welcome throwback to the early days of the
Buffyverse. A Halloween show, this episode is pure fun and fear, with
emotions pinballing off the Scoobies themselves instead of the larger
cast provided by college. Trapped in a haunted house, the Scoobies
battle their own fears and each other, which also becomes something of
a theme for them throughout this fourth season. Chapter 6 fires up the
surround sound system with scary noises that scream into the scene.
Chapter 8 features more party music and screams. When the bats are
disturbed in Chapter 9, their flapping wings explode all around Buffy
and her friends. The final line of the episode is an absolute kicker,
making this one of the not-to-be-missed episodes of the
collection.

“Beer Bad” comes across as one of the college-responsibility themes.
Chapter 1 opens with an explosive fight in the cemetery that turns out
to be a wish-fulfillment fantasy on Buffy’s part regarding the problem
of Parker, the guy she went to bed with who seems not to care for her
at all. Seeking to drown her sorrows over Parker and to better fit into
the college life, Buffy ends up at the Pub, the bar where Xander is
working his latest job. The music in Chapter 3 crashes through the
system, but pales significantly with the extreme vocals offered in
Chapter 4 where Willow and Oz are attending a new band’s set. The
female vocalist draws the attention of every male in the room,
ensnaring even the usually faithful Oz. The drums throb through the
subwoofer. The bartender in the Pub has laced his beer with a magical
potion which turns Buffy and her drinking buddies into cavemen. Xander
has to alert the Scoobies to the danger and they go into action, but
one of the highlights of the show is definitely Willow’s busting of
Parker’s come-on spiel. That couple of minutes where Willow stands up
for Buffy and females everywhere alone is worth the time to watch the
episode.

Spike returns briefly in “Wild At Heart,” only to be zapped by the
mysterious black-suited commandos in Chapter 1. The singer who captured
Oz’s attention last episode returns in Chapter 2 with more haunting
lyrics and rock ‘n’ roll that push the surround sound system, making
viewers who have it glad of the purchase. As it turns out, the singer
has a secret of her own: she’s as much of an animal as Oz is. This
episode marks the last of Green’s regular presentation of Oz, though he
does return twice more during this season, once in the flesh and once
in a dream. Whedon, writer/co-executive producer Marti Noxon and Green
get together to discuss this episode and their chemistry and the fun
they have together is immediately obvious.

“The Initiative” rips away the secrecy that has surrounded the commando
unit watching over the college. Riley Finn (Marc Blucas), who has
captured Buffy’s interest and is likewise interested in her, turns out
to be one of the unit’s top operatives. Marsters also shows up in the
opening credits. Chapter 1 opens with the Scoobies talking about Buffy
and her problems, then shoves on into Spike’s recovery in a sterile
lab/cell. In Chapter 2, Giles (Anthony Stewart Head), who was formally
removed as Buffy’s Watcher in Season Three and no longer has official
standing, and Xander fuss at each other because they both feel
unnecessary in Buffy’s freshman year, but Buffy recruits them into
action while she takes Willow to a party. Spike is fed through an
automated system in his cell, and the splat of the blood pack against
the floor in Chapter 3 is stone-cold solid, echoing the trapped feeling
he’s experiencing. Buffy also stands up for Willow against Professor
Walsh (Lindsay Crouse), who gets a well-deserved dressing down after a
callous disregard of Willow’s feelings. But it’s Chapter 4 that really
sits well with Buffy fans, because Parker gets what’s coming to him
when Riley unloads on him and knocks him flat after Parker talks
disparagingly about Buffy. Spike makes his escape and returns to
Harmony in Chapter 9, delivering a melodramatic monologue that grabs
the viewer’s attention. The chapter also offers some more thumping bar
music that shakes the surround sound system and thumps the subwoofer. A
fight between Harmony and Xander is hilarious, but Xander manages to
learn that Spike is back and is after Buffy. But the real capper
offered is this episode is Spike’s attempt to bite Willow in Chapter 13
and her own feelings of inadequacy when faced with the fact that she
believes not even a vampire wants her. Writer Doug Petrie offers a
great dissection of the episode, talking about how the scenes work and
the emotions that go with them.

“Pangs” offers up a Thanksgiving feast that is a buffet of the Scoobies
in action, offering everything that the fans most love about the
characters. Chapter 1 offers the sound of rustling bushes and the
appearance of Buffy’s old love, soulful vampire Angel (David Boreanaz),
back in Sunnydale. In Chapter 2, Buffy wears a cowboy hat that becomes
memorable just for that, and Anya has returned to try once again to
figure out why Xander is so interesting to her. Unfortunately, Xander’s
new job in construction awakens an ancient Native American curse that
descends upon Sunnydale and quickly targets the Slayer during the midst
of her unflagging determination to have a Thanksgiving dinner and make
life just the way she remembered it before college rudely interrupted
everything. Chapter 7’s scene with Harmony kicking Spike out is great,
drawing the best from both those characters. When confronted later in
the chapter, the Native American shaman who has returned to fulfill the
curse turns into a flock of crows with a loud whoosh that wakes up the
subwoofer and echoes through the surround sound system. In Chapter 10,
the shaman raises up an undead army to the accompaniment of throbbing
drums rolling from the subwoofer. Seeing Spike transfixed by arrows
while tied to a chair during the Thanksgiving dinner will leave most
fans rolling.

Willow tries to use magic to come to terms with her grief over Oz in
“Something Blue,” casting a spell to make her wishes come true, and the
spell backfires with tragic and comedic results as Giles goes blind,
Buffy and Spike get engaged to be married and Xander becomes a demon
magnet. Chapter 1 offers a scene of Buffy interrogating Spike while
he’s tied up in Giles’ bathtub. Giles’ reaction to the taunting is
priceless.

“Hush,” for all its silence, ends up as one of the season’s most
talked-about episodes. A group of nasties called The Gentlemen arrive
in Sunnydale in the dead of night to steal the voices of all those
living in town. They have to collect seven hearts as a sacrifice. The
episode “talks” about communication between people. Chapter 2 offers an
entertaining look at Giles and Spike as roommates, then shifts to the
problems Xander and Anya have at understanding each other. Tara (Amber
Benson) is introduced as part of Willow’s Wicca group in Chapter 3. In
Chapter 5, The Gentlemen’s hideout in the clock tower is revealed, and
the quiet of the surroundings emphasizes the creepiness of The
Gentlemen. With no human voices spoken in Chapter 8, the breaking glass
in the hallway sounds strident and ominous, offering an effective use
of an isolated sound. Buffy and Riley meet and help each other fight in
Chapter 9. The image of the victim crying out soundlessly in Chapter 10
will probably stay with most viewers for some time because a number of
them have probably had dreams where they couldn’t call out for help.
The overhead projector display in Chapter 11 is priceless. The wet
“splopping” sounds made by the implosion of The Gentlemen’s heads in
Chapter 14 punctuates the resolution of the menace. Whedon provides
audio commentary for this episode, discussing the message he wanted to
convey, as well as anecdotes about the actors and the scenes. Viewers
get a real idea of how enjoyable working with him must be, and how
broad and imaginative his vision is.

Buffy deals with her own confused feelings over a potential
relationship with Riley in “Doomed.” Neither she nor Riley have exactly
been upfront about their other lives as heroes, and the earthquake in
Chapter 1 rumbling through the subwoofer seems to underscore the
reasons they shouldn’t pursue a romantic relationship. Chapter 2 shows
Spike and Xander as roommates down in Xander’s parents’ basement. Spike
is lethargic and totally down about his current state of affairs while
Xander is put upon because he feels invaded and Spike’s presence
interferes with his love life. The bar music in Chapter 4 vibrates
through the surround sound system, placing the viewer with the gang in
the Bronze nightclub. Chapter 6 offers a laugh-out-loud moment as Spike
is forced to wear Xander’s clothing instead of his usual black attire.
In Chapter 7, Giles informs the Scoobies that the end of the world is
at hand. “Again!?” they explode together. Three demons attempt to offer
sacrifices at the Hellmouth to bring about an apocalypse. Spike’s
attempts at suicide in Chapter 10 will have most viewers rolling in the
living room, but Chapter 13 with its tour of the burnt-out husk that is
Sunnydale High brings a moment of poignancy.

“A New Man” offers a birthday episode for Buffy, and those always have
an interesting quirk. The opening credits also start listing Blucas.
The birthday surprise introduced in Chapter 1 startles most viewers as
much as it does Buffy. By Chapter 2, though, Giles suffers a serious
setback because he’s left out of the festivities. In Chapter 3, Spike
moves out of Xander’s basement and steals property, which he says
Xander shouldn’t be terribly surprised about. Chapter 5 offers a brief
contest of wills as Giles takes on Professor Walsh, who states that
Buffy suffers from having a lack of a solid father figure, something
that Giles takes personally. Ethan Rayne (Robin Sachs), a villainous
sorcerer and old acquaintance of Giles first introduced in Season Two,
also shows up and slips Giles a potion that creates total havoc as it
changes the Watcher into a demon. During his conversation with Ethan,
Giles also learns that the demons all live in fear of the Initiative
and something called “314.” The ending is swift and vibrant, offering
definite doom potential, but turns out as one of the more tender
moments in the season shared between Buffy and Giles.

Buffy enlists with the Initiative in “The I In Team”. Chapter 1 opens
with training exercises that explode through the surround sound system.
Riley is proud of her and glad they’ll be working together. Buffy isn’t
certain about the whole government-sponsorship issue, but goes along
because of Riley. In Chapter 4, Buffy is shown the underground complex,
which blows her away. Chapter 5 displays the budding relationship
between Tara and Willow that sent many fans in different directions
over issues of sexual orientation. The second half of that chapter also
reveals Professor Walsh’s pet project: Adam (George Hertzberg) in Room
314. Adam is a construct, a patchwork being made of human, demon and
cybernetic parts. Chapter 9 shows Buffy in bed with Riley as Professor
Walsh watches through a security camera, and for the next few episodes
sex seems to be high on the season’s list of priorities, pushing the
boundaries definitely into more adult fare. In Chapter 12, fearing
Buffy’s influence over Riley, Walsh sets Buffy up to be killed,
resulting in Riley’s split from the Initiative.

In “Goodbye Iowa,” the Initiative takes on the definite role of the
villain, especially since Adam has killed Professor Walsh at the end of
the last episode. Chapter 1 offers a quick recap, then shows Adam alive
and kicking. Chapter 3 shows an insightful bit of dialogue between Adam
and a small child. The boy knows Adam is a monster but is unafraid of
him, and the scene seems to be offered as a review of today’s kids
recognizing the monsters around them but knowing they can’t do anything
about them. Tara and Willow get closer in Chapter 8, and the fact that
the Initiative kept Riley drugged on a regular basis is revealed in
Chapter 9. Chapter 10 offers a mystery and a prelude to a fifth-season
episode when Tara surreptitiously refuses to take part in Willow’s
spell to identify every demon in the nearby area. While pursuing Adam,
the Scoobies learn that Riley is also part of Professor Walsh’s
project. In Chapter 14, demons beat Spike up, further distancing him
from the evil that he once was and setting him up for a comeback role
as a hero with Buffy and the others in later seasons.

“This Year’s Girl” and “Who Are You?” are two episodes featuring the
return of rogue Slayer Faith (Eliza Dushku) to the Buffyverse. After
escaping the hospital where she’s been lying in a coma since last
season, Faith uses a bit of magic her former boss the Mayor has left
for her to switch bodies with Buffy. The writing and the action is
quick and terse, moving the story along nicely and showing the
different path Buffy could have walked while at the same time revealing
the potential redemption of Faith. Petrie relays the audio commentary
with panache and wit, but also bringing a terrific amount of insight
about the characters and story.

“Superstar” opens as another just-for-fun-but-bearing-a-message
episodes. Jonathan (Danny Strong), also of Sunnydale High School,
returns with a spell that remakes the world over in his image, which is
a nice thing except for the price that comes due. Jonathan’s successes
are balanced by the appearance of a deadly demon that is linked to him.
Chapter 2 offers spy guy music as Buffy and the others swing into
action alongside Jonathan. The music at the Bronze in Chapter 6 crashes
through the surround sound system. In a strange twist, Chapter 8
reveals that Adam is unaffected by Jonathan’s spell and also serves to
remind the season’s dedicated viewers that he still lurks out there in
the wings waiting to pounce. Even though the show deviates and provides
a side trip through the Buffy reality, opportunities arise to take care
of ongoing business between Buffy and Riley. One of the choice bits,
though, has got to be Giles’ possession of the Jonathan swimsuit
calendar and his denial of having purchased it himself. The writer of
this episode, Jane Espenson, provides commentary that deepens the
viewers understanding of her vision of the Buffyverse, as well as being
charming and witty.

Another ghost-haunted house takes center stage in “Where The Wild
Things Are.” While attending a frat party at Riley’s dorm, Riley and
Buffy are ensnared in a spell that keeps them in bed throughout the
whole menace as ghosts of children feed on their energy to throw
everyone else in the house out. Chapter 1 shows Buffy and Riley
fighting together against a vampire and demon pair, which normally
doesn’t happen and tips them off that Adam is definitely at work.
Chapter 2 shows Anya and Xander on the edge of a breakup, and Xander’s
eyes go wandering. The party music in Chapter 6 slams the surround
sound system while Buffy and Riley get together for more sex. Anya and
Spike get together for some commiserating that finds them lamenting the
days when they had powers to do evil things that is a gem of a moment.
The music in Chapter 8 throbs through the surround sound system, but
it’s Giles’ vocals in Chapter 11 on an acoustic cover of the Who’s
“Behind Blue Eyes” that really catches everyone by surprise. The
Scoobies work together and patch things up to figure out how to shut
down the haunted house.

“New Moon Rising” brings Oz back to Sunnydale. In Chapter 1, Willow
takes Tara to a meeting of the Scoobies, then does translations for her
for everything that’s going on. Someone knocks on the door, and when
it’s opened, Oz is standing there, looking for Willow. Buffy and Riley
fight over Oz’s werewolfism, with Buffy feeling that the suspicious
Riley is a bigot. However, when Willow talks about her romantic
relationship with Tara, Buffy goes through the same struggle with
handling the unexpected information that Riley is grappling with about
Oz (albeit Tara isn’t posing a wolfy risk to society). Chapter 7 echoes
with Adam’s ponderous footsteps in Spike’s lair.

Another two-parter, “The Yoko Factor” and “Primeval,” wraps up the twin
threats of the Initiative and Adam. Working with Adam in the hopes of
getting the chip out of his head that prevents him from attacking and
feeding on humans, Spike uses his gift of guile and his knowledge of
the Scoobies’ vulnerable points to set them at odds with each other so
that Buffy will be totally alone in her fight against Adam. Spike tells
Adam that the thing that has set Buffy apart from past Slayers is her
friendships and all the people that rally to her banner to fight the
good fight with her. Adam’s evil plan of flooding the Initiative’s
cells with demons and vampires so he can later release them and kill
everyone in the complex is also revealed. Adam turns out to be more
than a match for Buffy by herself. Her encounter with him leaves her
nearly dead and kills Forrest (Leonard Roberts, who went on to costar
in “Drumline”), one of Riley’s close commando friends. Later, when
Riley is taken by Adam and turns out to be an integral part of
Professor Walsh’s plans, Buffy figures out Spike was at the bottom of
all their problems, reunites the gang, and leads them all once more
into the breech. Willow employs a mystical spell that has the
inadvertent side effect of stressing the fabric of the whole Slayer
magic and causes severe repercussions. As a bonus, “Primeval” features
an audio commentary track by writer David Fury and director James A.
Contner.

“Restless,” written and directed by Whedon, appears to be a set piece,
but actually advances the Slayer mythos. Chapter 1 starts with Riley
leaving to muster out of the Army. Taking a night of leisure in the
familiar comforts of Buffy’s mother Joyce’s (Kristine Sutherland) home,
Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles all experience dreams that confront
them with their fears and a primitive woman dressed in furs who claims
to be the First Slayer, the one who initially stood alone against the
forces of darkness. These encounters also feature the Cheese Man, whose
true purpose remains to be seen. Whedon offers a commentary on the
episode that adds layers to understanding everything the characters go
through while dreaming, delivering insight and a lot of humor, as well
as the reasons behind ending the season with an episode that is not
world-threatening. Whedon sets out to pay homage to a lot of filmmakers
and movies throughout the piece and takes care to point out who and
what those were.

Besides the commentaries, the discs include featurettes on the
largely-dialogue-free episode “Hush,” the series’ sets, music used on
the series (including mention of the excellent band Four Star Mary,
which provides the sound of Oz’s band – the band members also show up
as Giles’ onscreen backup group in the “Restless” dream), and one
featurette each on the two other-than-human regular characters,
werewolf Oz and vampire Spike, with observant comments from,
respectively, actors Green and Marsters.

Collectors of all things Buffy will definitely want to pick up this DVD
ensemble of Season Four. Although there is no Big Bad and a general
loss of exactly where to take the show remains constant, the series’
writers still deliver great scripts, witty dialogue, and action that
whets the appetite for the years to come.